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MAJOR DEVELOPMENT: Russia ends treaty limiting plutonium production in response to US escalation of hostility

This is a major development. Russia has suspended a September 2000 protocol agreement with the US and NATO regarding the production of weapons grade plutonium. This is apparently in response to ongoing sanctions, the failure of the US to engage in a meaningful ceasefire dialogue in Syria following the revelation that the US wanted Russia not to attack Al Qaeda, rebranded Al-Nusra, etc., fighting groups in Aleppo, and is also in response to the US’s continued troop and armaments concentration in Poland and Baltic states.

This means that Russia will be able to increase its nuclear arsenal. Putin has said that the end of this agreement will continue until the US ends its sanctions.

The US has now threatened continuing its Syria strategy ‘by other means’ after it released an official statement saying that the US has ended bilateral talks on Syria with Russia.

Fort Russ brings you three separate reports from different Russian news sources, cutting out most of the repitition, on this major story. – J. Flores, ed.

From TopWar: On October 3rd, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on suspending compliance with the agreement with the Americans on disposing weapons-grade plutonium. The main reason for this decision was pointed out as the “unfriendly attitude of the US towards Russia.”

Sources from the State Duma have reported that Russia is ready to resume the agreement if the US cancels all anti-Russian sanctions. In addition, Russia demands that the US reduce its military contingent in Europe before it resumes compliance with the protocols. The State Duma’s statement reads:

“Acting according to the agreement and the protocols of the agreement can be resumed after the US eliminates the reasons which led to this radical change in circumstances…after the US reduces its military infrastructure and the number of its troop contingents deployed on the territories of NATO countries having joined NATO after September 1st, 2000 down to the level at which they were on the day that the agreement and its protocols entered force. Why is the year 2000 specified? The agreement itself came into force (and was, moreover, fulfilled exclusively by one side – Russia) in September 2000. Since then, NATO has grown to encompass 9 states of Eastern Europe. Just around the corner is NATO’s 10th state to be included since 2000 – Montenegro.”

In addition, Russia has demanded as one of its conditions that Washington cancel the so-called Magnitsky Act which was introduced as a repressive measure against representatives of the Russian law-enforcement system and judiciary.

We await a reaction from the US.

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From Lenta

Unlike Russia, the US is not fulfilling its obligations on organizing the destruction of weapons-grade plutonium, but is preserving it for potential return.

Putin said: “At the beginning of the 2000’s, we reached an agreement with the Americans on the destruction of weapons-grade plutonium. We signed an agreement and agreed that this material will be destroyed in a certain way, namely by industrial means, for which special companied had to be built. We have fulfilled our obligations and built these enterprises. Our American partners have not.”

According to Putin, Washington not too long ago announced that the US has unilaterally changed the technique of disposing of plutonium by “diluting it and disposing of it somewhere in certain tanks.” The president explained: “This means that they are preserving it with the potential of being returned, i.e., it can be extracted again, reworked, and once again turned into weapons-grade plutonium.”

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From News.Ru

Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, explained: “The point is that – and both President Putin himself has repeatedly explained this as have our experts – the American side has in fact fulfilled the conditions of this document in such a way as to leave itself with plutonium that has return potential, and in terms of volume this is not at all in accordance with the stipulations of the document.”

In his words, Russia has been fulfilling the terms of the agreement alone long enough. Now, Peskov remarked, “given the overall tension, the Russian side does not consider the continuation of this situation possible.”